Kathy Foster/Special to the News Sentinel
The Rev. Daryl Arnold is senior pastor of East Knoxville’s Overcoming Believers Church.

"I've joined the Young Crips," my 11-year old friend announced proudly after school one day.

"Is that a gang?" I asked with evident concern in my voice. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

"It's just a gang for kids," he replied nonchalantly. "It's cool."

A few weeks later I asked him to tell me more about his involvement with the Young Crips. "I never said anything about that," he snapped, and then changed the subject.

Someone obviously told my young friend not to talk to anyone about his gang involvement. Most people, it turns out, don't want to talk about gangs, especially if they have anything to do with them. There are good reasons for this. Last April, the local news reported that a 20-year old member of the Five Deuce Hoover Crips gang was beaten nearly to death, apparently for trying to leave his gang. Not surprisingly, every person I tried to talk with who is presently involved with a gang either refused to meet or canceled our appointment. As one person reminded me, "Snitches get stitches and wind up in ditches."

One person willing to talk about Knoxville's growing gang problem is the Rev. Daryl Arnold, senior pastor of East Knoxville's rapidly growing Overcoming Believers Church. We meet on a balmy April afternoon in his Magnolia Avenue office, which he leases from Fifth Avenue Baptist Church. Crisply dressed in gray slacks, yellow bow tie and tweed sport coat, he warmly welcomes me, and I make a comment about the nice weather. "I get nervous when it warms up outside," the 44-year-old pastor responds. "The snow has been good for me. Kids don't kill each other in the snow. As soon as it gets warm, they start shooting again."

Arnold preaches most funerals for gang members in Knoxville. East Knoxville funeral directors have him on speed dial. The pastor loves the gang members and their families. "These are not bad people," he says. "Some are in my church. They are being deceived, buying a lie, just like Adam and Eve did." When a gang fight broke out during a funeral last summer, it didn't silence him. He continued pleading with the gang members to change their ways even as the fighting moved to the parking lot. "My deacons think I'm crazy, but it may be the only time I have their attention," he explains. "I told them, ‘I know you think you are ballers, but you had to catch a ride just to get here today.

"Listen! The streets don't work! You've been working hard, and you don't even own a car. Something is wrong.'"

Those of us living in Knoxville's suburbs are probably not aware of a gang problem in Knoxville. We might wonder why tennis shoes are hanging from telephone wires in Fort Sanders without realizing that gangs often mark their turf that way. We might notice graffiti appearing behind our favorite Market Square restaurant and never discern the gang signs hidden within it. We don't wake up in the morning and wonder if any of the kids on our block will be shot today. The Rev. Arnold does. "Gang violence is a huge, huge problem in our city," he says. "It's on my mind all the time." He pauses, then adds, "Kids in the hood don't have a vision for living past 21. Can you imagine?"

Statistics support the pastor's concerns. According to Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols, Knoxville is home to 32 gangs. The Crips and the Bloods are two of the more popular ones. Other popular Knoxville gangs include the Aryan Brotherhood, Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings and the Vice Lords. Five years ago, Nichols had 247 names on a list of known gang members. Today, nearly 1,400 names are on his list.

Gang life is neither profitable nor glorious, according to Nichols. He explained that a person has to be beaten or raped just to join. Many gang members don't make it out alive, and those who do survive usually wind up in prison. Even when things are going "well," a gang member never generates wealth. "They can't even afford their own cars," Nichols notes. "Somebody is making a lot of money off of them, but it isn't anybody around here."

So why have so many of our city's young people joined gangs?

"Four reasons," Arnold says. He has given this sermon before. "First, they join because gang life has become glorified. Hip-hop culture glorifies it. Second, these kids join because they've grown up in gang culture. They've never been to Gatlinburg. They don't know anything else. The third reason is economics. They don't have money, and they can't get jobs. Gangs offer a way to make some money. Fourth, these kids have no fathers. They have nobody to hug them. These gang boys? They hug each other. They want family. And they find it in a gang."

"What's the solution?" I ask. Arnold stretches his lanky frame and looks out his office window. "I don't want to lie to you. The ship is going to turn slowly." He takes a long pull from a bottle of water, perhaps wondering how frank he should be.

"The mayor and a few leaders have been talking about solutions. We've taken an idea from Chicago — violence interrupters — and are wondering what it might look like here." In Chicago, former gang members have worked as mediators trying to stop gang violence before it starts. The assumption is that violence spreads through a city like an infectious disease spreads through a body and must be stopped at its source. The work of these former gang members was featured in the 2011 documentary "The Interrupters."

"Another part of the answer is mentoring," the pastor continues. "We've got to get men back into their lives." Lis Couser, Chief Development Officer for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee, couldn't agree more. "We have 100-120 kids on our mentoring waiting list today, but the real number is much, much higher than this." She believes mentoring is a powerful way to care for kids attracted to gangs. "Children who are mentored through Big Brothers Big Sisters make better decisions to avoid risky behaviors, like joining a gang," Couser observes.

The Rev. Arnold also believes that fun is another part of the solution. "We have to have something for these kids to do this summer, something fun that gets them off the streets."

He pulls an iPhone from his sport coat pocket. "There is so much to work against," he sighs, handing me the phone. "Look at this. I saw this on Facebook last night." He shows me a picture of nine children gathered in a living room, all apparently younger than 10, flashing gang signs before the camera.

"But there is hope," he says. "These kids are being taught to do wrong. If they can be taught to wrong, they can be taught to do right." He walks into his office and returns with what looks like a blue bandana.

"Do you know what this is?" he asks.

"A bandana?"

"No. It's called a flag. A gang member identifies himself by wearing a flag." He unfolds the flag and hands it to me. "Last Sunday, a guy put his flag into the offering plate. He came up to me after service and said, ‘I'm turning in my flag, pastor. I want to follow Jesus.' There is hope. People do change."

As we walk to my car, a young boy pedals his bike in circles on the street running beside the church. "Why aren't you in school, son?" Arnold demands. The boy explains that he missed the bus. The pastor gives the boy a quick, fatherly lecture on the importance of staying in school. He turns to me and adds, "His momma should have taken him to school, but I think she's at work."

I've thought a lot about that boy since my interview with the Rev. Arnold. Will someone mentor him? Will he be one of the lucky kids spending his afternoons running across the new downtown Sansom soccer field or shooting hoops at the Boys and Girls Club? Will anybody step up and be a violence interrupter in his life?

Or will the Rev. Arnold preach his funeral one day? Before he's 21.

Doug Banister is pastor at All Souls Church. Send suggestions for Hope for Our City to features@knoxnews.com.

HOW TO HELP

The Big Brothers Big Sisters: a program that aims to create successful mentoring relationships for all children who need and want them, contributing to brighter futures, better schools and stronger communities for all. Go to www.tennesseebig.org/site/

Amachi Knoxville: a mentoring program that pairs adult mentors with children ages 4 to 17, all of whom have a parent in prison. Call 865-524-2774 or go to www.klf.org/index.php/programs/amachi/

THRIVE Lonsdale: an after-school mentoring program for Lonsdale youth. THRIVE provides kids help with homework, mentoring, activities, and a snack as well as dinner. THRIVE is in need of volunteers willing to provide dinner (they serve about 70 kids a meal Monday-Friday). They also need volunteers to participate after school interacting and developing relationships with students, as well as activity leaders willing to teach a skill. More info: clairenorvet.soar@gmail.com

The Restoration House: a nonprofit organization that helps restore single mothers and their children through supportive transitional housing, team mentoring and family advocacy. Restoration House is in need of teams of six to 12 mentors from area churches to walk alongside participating families, providing emotional support and practical guidance. More info: 865-200-5406; www.therestorationhouse.net

A Hand Up for Women: provides services and relationships that empower women to move toward economic self-sufficiency. They are in need of volunteers to serve as mentors providing encouragement and accountability. They also need volunteers to lead classes on life skills, financial management and job readiness. More info: 865-219-0104, www.ahandupforwomen.org.

Emerald Youth Foundation: an urban youth ministry that focuses on faith, education, and sports programs. Emerald Youth is in need of volunteers to lead Bible studies on Wednesday nights, tutors and homework helpers for the after-school program, and basketball coaches for the upcoming season. More info: www.emeraldyouth.org, Rachel Davis at 865-637-3227, Ext. 112.

Global SEEDS: an organization seeking to empower Muslim refugees to gain financial stability through vocational training while they learn English and American culture. Global Seeds needs volunteers to tutor refugees in English, drivers for appointments and hosts meals so that refugees can develop relationships with American families. More info: www.intertwinedstories, 865-249-8058.

Editor's note: The News Sentinel's ongoing series "Hope for Our City" aims to mobilize the Knoxville community to seek the common good of the city by telling stories that put faces on urban problems and celebrate neighbors helping neighbors. Read more Hope for Our City stories are at www.knoxnews.com